On Vox: Book Thoughts: Born Standing Up: a comic's life

[orangerful]

Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life (Thorndike Press Large Print Core Series)

Steve Martin

Steve Martin's new autobiography is an amazing read.  I am not very familiar with Steve Martin's stand-up work, beyond what I saw on The Muppet Show.  But I've always liked his sense of humor (L.A. Story is one of my favorite movies).  I adored 'Shopgirl' and enjoyed 'Pleasure of my Company'.  So I figured I would give this book a try.

Steve Martin gave up stand-up one night after a show when he realized he wasn't having fun anymore.  He walked away and never went back.  Until now.  This book is like sitting down with him over coffee and watching him go through an old box of memories.  What could have been a self-love fest turns into a nostalgic and bittersweet look back at his childhood, young adult, and early 30s.  He examines the road that led him to comedy, the people he met along the way, and how his style came about.  He doesn't pretend to remember every detail of his life, its more about feelings and memories. 

The book made me laugh.  It made me want to hug Steve Martin.  It made me want to go in search of clips of his old stand-up.  It made me wish someone was doing something as wild and crazy as that today.  It made me wish I could have been there. 

Originally posted on orangerful.vox.com

Comments

[nycshelly.livejournal.com]

I really do need to read that book. I loved his standup act. I remember watching him on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, back when he had brown hair and wore an arrow through his head. Much as I miss his standup routines, it's good to know he knew when to stop and move on to other things.

[ekaterin24.livejournal.com]

I'm a Steve Martin fan too, so this one will go on my "to read" list.

thanks for the great review/recommendation!

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

After I finished reading it, I looked in the library catalog and saw we had it as an audiobook and Steve Martin reads it! So now I'm going to listen to it! He seems to be one of the most intelligent people in Hollywood.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

I just checked out the audiobook, which is read by Steve Martin! Might be better than actually reading it!